


Ice-rink revelations

by allegedlyanandroid



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: But Gavin Knows How to Read Him Anyway, Drabble, Fluff, Gavin Reed Not Being an Asshole, Holding Hands, Ice Skating, Kissing, M/M, Nines can't emote properly, Soft Gavin Reed, Soft Upgraded Connor | RK900
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:00:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25897816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allegedlyanandroid/pseuds/allegedlyanandroid
Summary: One would think an android designed, in part, for war with the Russians would be capable of moving swiftly and fluently on ice. Well... not quite. Thankfully Nines receives some help from a not-so-unlikely source.
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Comments: 30
Kudos: 116





	Ice-rink revelations

**Author's Note:**

> I've been in a fluffy type of mode so... have this?

**Ice rink revelations**

No one seemed to notice Nines, all six-feet-something of him, remaining frozen near the entrance to the ice rink. No one but Gavin that is.

He’d taken a few laps around the enclosed space, to get the feel of it again, and was now confident enough to skate with ease while the majority still stumbled around or, in Tina’s case, showed off by doing pirouettes and leaps. So, while Nines’ unmoving form didn’t stand out per say, Gavin had a habit of looking out for the young android regardless of the circumstances.

And right now, he looked absolutely terrified.

Well... as much as he could since emoting wasn’t his strong suit.

With everyone else distracted, Gavin keeps up a moderate pace until he reaches Nines’ side. “You doing alright, tin-man?”

“Quite,” Nines replies, not taking his hand off the rink (which had bent slightly under the extreme strain he’d put on it) or meeting his eyes. His focus seemed solely directed to standing as still and straight-backed as possible. Gavin’s lips twitch slightly and he takes a deep breath before continuing to talk.

“Would you like some help? I could teach you if you want,” Gavin says, and tries his best to smile reassuringly when Nines finally meets his gaze.

“I don’t think–” Nines begins to say before cutting himself off, jaw working around words he can’t find while Gavin waits; though the sentence trails off there and is never picked up again.

“Come on, I won’t let you fall! Or if we do, at least I can cushion it,” Gavin says with a small grin and offers both his hands for Nines to take. He’d neglected to wear gloves and Nines hadn’t either, so when his partner hesitantly reaches out with his free hand, Gavin feels the cold emanating from it and the softness of his artificial skin. “Very good,” he continues, which is probably a bit of a low blow since Nines always soaks up praise like the earth absorbs water. “Now the other one.”

With the strength he’d been using to hold onto the rink, Gavin is pleasantly surprised to notice his hands aren’t crushed by Nines’ deceivingly slender hands. Instead they hold his with a reassuring, if anxious, pressure.

“Okay. Now, ice skating isn’t all that different from walking. Just bend your knees a little – seriously Nines you look as if a strong wind could break you in half – and instead of putting your heels down first you push back with your feet, alright?”

“So... it’s nothing like walking?”

“No.”

Nines, who’s features are already schooled into his default blank expression, looks if anything even more stony than usual. Not even his LED, usually the easiest way to discern his state of mind, does anything but continue spinning in golden-yellow circles.

An eternity later, Nines slowly pushes his left foot back and then wobbles precariously forward at a pace _slightly_ slower than a snail. His LED flickers with bursts of red while he fights to keep his balance and Gavin bites back a laugh. It isn’t funny, he tries to remind himself, though it does him little good. Who would have thought Cyberlife’s most advanced android to date could be defeated by something as simple a plain of frozen water?

“There you go! You’re doing great, Nines!”

Nines doesn’t particularly look as if he believes him, though, like the ~~adorably~~ stubborn person he is, he slowly does the same with his right. Over and over again until he’s not good at it but looks less like a fawn stumbling on ice. Gavin for his part continues with his gentle encouragements, skating slowly backwards for every mirroring push forwards from Nines.

They hadn’t given him the ability to smile but somehow Nines’ lips are quirked just the tiniest bit and his blinking, blue LED betrays his elated state of mind.

“Would you look at that–” Gavin cheers, fingers twitching since he can’t splay his arms wide the way he wants to without letting go of Nines’ hands, “–you made it an entire lap without falling!”

Nines looks at him then, instead of staring at his feet with nearly enough concentration to set them aflame, and blinks a few times in quick succession; to Gavin at least, his eyes seemingly brighten with excitement. His cheeks are dusted a pale blue, from the cold if Gavin has to hazard a guess, and it’s extremely difficult to not tug Nines down by his ridiculous, knitted, marine-blue scarf to kiss him.

Gavin clears his throat to distract himself. “You want to go fast this time around?”

“I- I don’t think I can?” Nines murmurs, quietly embarrassed, while the light dims minutely in his eyes.

“Let me do all the work. You just hang on, alright?” Gavin hastens to clarify, kicking himself a little for making Nines feel self-conscious. The poor android has a hard enough time with that already without Gavin helping him along. He takes Nines’ silence for dubiousness. “Just... trust me?”

“Always.”

He hadn’t taken so much as a second to think before blurting out his response, Gavin could tell, and some warm, squishy feeling wells up in his chest at the thought of having Nines whole-heartedly believing in him; no questions asked. In an effort to stop himself from saying something stupid and telling, or worse... needy, Gavin tears his eyes away and begins skating backwards, effortlessly picking up speed.

Nines’ grip on his hands tightens significantly, just shy of painful, and his LED is a lightshow of different colours as Gavin keeps going faster and faster; until they’re zooming past everyone else in a wide circle.

Gradually, Nines relaxes, confident in Gavin’s ability to keep them both on their feet, as he is, rather unceremoniously, dragged across the ice. It is fun, freeing even, and Nines loves every minute of it.

A burst of metallic rattling and radio static startles them both and Gavin focuses on Nines once more. Their gazes meet and Gavin finds himself unable to breathe. Nines is... beautiful. In the harsh fluorescent lights he looks positively radiant. Nines' eyes are alight with emotions that doesn't transfer across his face, LED circling a pale pastel pink; a colour he’s never seen before, and his cheeks have darkened a tad in the harsh winds to a dim indigo. It takes Gavin another few seconds to realise those sounds are coming from Nines and they mean he’s laughing _._

Gavin’s mouth opens in a soft ‘oh’, the warm feeling centred in his chest magnifying tenfold whilst the butterflies in his stomach tries their damned hardest to burst through his skin. By now they’re carried only by previous momentum since Gavin has long since stopped moving his feet. They come to a slow halt and Nines tilts his head to the side in confusion, a little disgruntled at them coming to a standstill.

Once Nines takes notice of the expression stealing across Gavin’s face however, he allows himself to be tugged down and ardently holds his breath as Gavin’s lips come in contact with his own. They are rougher than he expected, a little chapped from the cold, although the kiss is as gentle and soft as they come. Nines can’t help but melt into it, eyes sliding shut, his sensors alight and processors buzzing with the sudden influx of data and sensations.

When Gavin finally pulls back, Nines lets out a quiet, disappointed whimper and leans forward to keep them connected just a little bit longer. He feels Gavin exhale through his nose at the motion, the warm air caressing Nines’ lower jaw, while his hands squeeze Nines’ tighter.

Once they part, Nines is treated to the sight of Gavin blushing all the way to the tips of his ears. He looks, for all intents and purposes, _smitten._ If Nines' LED hadn’t been spinning in flares of pink already, it surely would have begun doing so now, when feeling nothing but warmth and affection targeted towards the man in front of him. He knocks their foreheads together and finds himself wanting to keep the memory of Gavin giggling brightly close to his heart.

“Again,” Nines whispers, not certain himself whether he is speaking about the kisses or Gavin’s laughter or the actual ice-skating. Thankfully, he doesn’t have to specify since Gavin laughs again, kicks forward to pick up the pace and when they’re flittering over the ice, chaotic like two snowflakes caught in the wind, he raises one of Nines’ hands up to plant a quick kiss there.

The warmth of Gavin's lips brushing against the back of his hand, against the bare chassis where his skin slowly retreats from his knuckles, sets his heart fluttering anew.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are always appreciated! Hope you're staying safe out there <3
> 
> Tumblr is [here!](https://allegedlyanandroid.tumblr.com/)


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